désillusion

disillusionment; disappointment

noun deh-zee-loo-ZYOHN Rare

Origin: French dés- (negation) + illusion.

Usage Note

Désillusion describes the feeling of lost illusions or shattered expectations. Éprouver une désillusion means to experience disillusionment. The related verb désillusionner means to disillusion someone, and the participle désillusionné (disillusioned) is common as an adjective in political and personal contexts.

Examples

"Il a ressenti une profonde désillusion après les élections."

Natural Translation

He felt a deep disillusionment after the elections.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Aller + Infinitive: The Easy French Future

Form the French near future in seconds: conjugate aller in the present and add an infinitive. Learn futur proche rules, negation, pronouns, and when to use it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Le, La, Un, Du: French Articles Made Simple

Le, la, un, du, des made simple: pick the French article family by meaning, the form by gender, and dodge the two mistakes English speakers always make.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Numbers 1 to 100: Count With Confidence

French numbers 1 to 100 in one complete chart, with pronunciation, the et-un rule, hyphens, and the four-twenties system explained so you can count anywhere.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read